2022-23 NBA Thread

[wadesworld]

He has to have agreed to extend with them and had to have Luka's approval, right? I'm not touching Kyrie for 2 starters and a first (plus 2 picks) if I'm any team. But especially one trying to keep Luka happy.

[WhiteTrash]

Kyrie to the Mavs

Impossible, the national media told us it would be the Lakers.

[JWags85]

He has to have agreed to extend with them and had to have Luka's approval, right? I'm not touching Kyrie for 2 starters and a first (plus 2 picks) if I'm any team. But especially one trying to keep Luka happy.

A 2029 1st, and neither of the seconds are till 2027.  So you have plenty of time with those, that's not a big deal.  Dinwiddie is obviously swapped for Kyrie.  DFS will be a loss defending on the wing but not like altering.  If Kyrie and Luka get along, then it's a win for both teams.

At the very least this is gonna be really fun to watch.  I look forward to when half the basketball writers stop making dumb Alex Jones/conspiracy jokes and start analyzing how Luka and Kyrie can best coexist

[rocket surgeon]

i always thought the mavs needed an established big to go with luka before they add another guard.  something replacing porzingas? a brooks lopez/bobby porter type not that i want to break them up here, but that type of big

[MU82]

Two guys who need to have the ball a LOT. Of course, the same was true of LeBron and Kyrie and, to a lesser extend, KD and Kyrie.

Not sure whether this puts the Mavs closer to an NBA title, but they certainly got more interesting.

[Jockey]

Impossible, the national media told us it would be the Lakers.

I partake of the national media every day and I wasn't told that.

I was told that the Lakers were one of the possible destinations for Kyrie.

[MuggsyB]

Definitely interesting... although I don't see it working. 

[GB Warrior]

This honestly feels like a salary dump with upside. If Kyrie is a good citizen and spectacular, great. If not, he's a FA and you have cap space to find a Luka wingman

[MU82]

This honestly feels like a salary dump with upside. If Kyrie is a good citizen and spectacular, great. If not, he's a FA and you have cap space to find a Luka wingman

That's a logical take, GBW.

The Mavs likely said, "We can't win the championship with what we have. Maybe we can't win in with Kyrie, either, but maybe we can if he's motivated. And if it doesn't work out, he's gone anyway. So what the heck?!?!"

[Herman Cain]

Hoping Jae ends up with the Bucks or alternatively the Heat. Pack those rosters with MU talent. 

[WhiteTrash]

I partake of the national media every day and I wasn't told that.

I was told that the Lakers were one of the possible destinations for Kyrie.

That is true. Not close to the Kyrie to Lakers - "Done Deal" this past summer.

[CreightonWarrior]

Ja Morant should probably tighten up that groups he hangs out with.

[JWags85]

Ja Morant should probably tighten up that groups he hangs out with.

Pretty sure I saw this evening that the NBA looked into it and didn't find anything to support  the story that was brought to the Athletic

[Jockey]

Pretty sure I saw this evening that the NBA looked into it and didn't find anything to support  the story that was brought to the Athletic

Yet, it appears that some friends of Morant have been banned from the arena for their actions at the game.

[MU82]

From The Athletic:

Durant and Irving played just 74 games together over three-plus seasons in Brooklyn. Durant, Irving and Harden played just 16 games together.

Ah, superteams!

[withoutbias]

LBJ mic'd up tells his sons he's going to get 8 points in the 3rd quarter.  Bet the house on him getting 8 3rd quarter points so he can tell the world he told his sons that he was going to get 8 third quarter points.  Then he'll check himself out 1 point shy of the record.  No way he wants to get it in a losing effort at home to the Thunder.  And then he gets it against who's "next" in Giannis on Thursday.

[wadesworld]

Only took LeBron like 10 minutes to get around to hugging/dapping up/high fiving his teammates after he broke the record. Kanye got a hug from him before his teammates did. Lol.

[Dish]

I mean, did the Lakers have to burn a timeout there?

[Jockey]

Only took LeBron like 10 minutes to get around to hugging/dapping up/high fiving his teammates after he broke the record. Kanye got a hug from him before his teammates did. Lol.

There are plenty of forums that traffic in LeBron hatred. Take your weak sauce to one of them. Lol.

[MU82]

Were my ears deceiving me, or did LeBron, talking to a packed arena and a national TV audience, actually (and rather casually) say the f-word near the end of his speech?

[MU82]

Yep. Right at the end, he said, "F@ck, man" -- fairly softly but into the live mic. It actually was almost endearing in a weird way -- "everyman-ish," unlike the rest of the coronation ceremony. But could anybody really have expected a toned-down ceremony involving a very self-aware guy and the Hollywood franchise?

I'm still in the Jordan-as-GOAT camp, with LeBron, Magic, Wilt, Russell and Kareem in the next tier just behind. FWIW though, LeBron will go down as the most statistically accomplished player in basketball history ... and it won't really be close by the time he's done. He could end up with 10K more points than Jordan and Wilt.

[tower912]

Were my ears deceiving me, or did LeBron, talking to a packed arena and a national TV audience, actually (and rather casually) say the f-word near the end of his speech?

Just like Justin Rose saying 'sh!t' over a live mic at the end of the Sunday part of the AT&T.    Oops.

[The Sultan]

Yep. Right at the end, he said, "F@ck, man" -- fairly softly but into the live mic. It actually was almost endearing in a weird way -- "everyman-ish," unlike the rest of the coronation ceremony. But could anybody really have expected a toned-down ceremony involving a very self-aware guy and the Hollywood franchise?

I'm still in the Jordan-as-GOAT camp, with LeBron, Magic, Wilt, Russell and Kareem in the next tier just behind. FWIW though, LeBron will go down as the most statistically accomplished player in basketball history ... and it won't really be close by the time he's done. He could end up with 10K more points than Jordan and Wilt.

It would have been interesting to see what Kareem could have done in the NBA with the four years that Lebron had by not going to college.  Kareem was clearly second fiddle to Magic on the back end of those Laker teams - perhaps even third behind James Worthy.  And that last year was pretty ugly culminating in that blowout Finals loss to the Pistons.

But yeah it looks like Lebron could be good for another five years.

[wadesworld]

https://twitter.com/BillSimmons/status/1623224309564198912?s=20&t=1LECb_6mXwwwH6mo7Gnr_g

[MU82]

Just like Justin Rose saying 'sh!t' over a live mic at the end of the Sunday part of the AT&T.    Oops.

Excellent point. Even in these "everything is on camera" times, it's still pretty rare for this kind of thing. As I said, it's almost endearing when it happens (unless it's in a fit of rage or something).